Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Anybody know the answer to this question? How many apps can a 16GB iPhone hold? I will have no music on my iPhone. I will take a lot of pictures and video randomly, but I always move them off the device.

I just want to know how many apps a 16GB iPhone can hold. I know apps range in size, but I'm just talking a ballpark figure.

in the thousands
 
Obviously it's a very personal decision. I go with 16GB since it's only for one year. In addition it's so easy to change up what's on it, there's no need for more capacity in my case.

This :)

Since a new version comes out every year it's a pure waste of $$$ for me to spend anything more than $199 since I will upgrade again in 12 months and that extra $100 every year will add up over time to be alot + it's so easy to manage your space (just don't be lazy!) ;)
 
If you record video, consider the new one is 1080p; lots more space required. I cancelled my order and went for 32GB.

If you have ipad + camera kit this is slightly less of a worry.
 
Anybody know the answer to this question? How many apps can a 16GB iPhone hold? I will have no music on my iPhone. I will take a lot of pictures and video randomly, but I always move them off the device.

I just want to know how many apps a 16GB iPhone can hold. I know apps range in size, but I'm just talking a ballpark figure.

All depends on the kind of apps you dl. If high end games they usually are higher around 200mb. If production apps, around 10mbs. I highly doubt you can fill up 16gb with just apps. You would have to dl hundreds and hundreds of apps.
 
These threads always make me laugh.

There is so many posts on this site regarding people buying 16gig (iphone/ipad) and regretting it, I am shocked folks still do it.

My music alone is close to 16 gig. Add movies and other stuff and I have filled a 32 giger many times.

I bought the 64GB iphone 4s.

You can surely exchange but if this release is anything like others....it will be tough to do so for a while.

I would not wait in line at the store but go right in to do a return and see if you can exchange. Worse case, they make you get back in line.

----------

Anybody know the answer to this question? How many apps can a 16GB iPhone hold? I will have no music on my iPhone. I will take a lot of pictures and video randomly, but I always move them off the device.

I just want to know how many apps a 16GB iPhone can hold. I know apps range in size, but I'm just talking a ballpark figure.

Believe its unlimited. However there is a limit to how many can be displayed. If you run out of icon space you'll have to do a spotlight search to find those that are not displayed.
 
These threads always make me laugh.

There is so many posts on this site regarding people buying 16gig (iphone/ipad) and regretting it, I am shocked folks still do it.

My music alone is close to 16 gig.

Because most people don't need to carry 4,000 songs with them ;)
 
So can we exchange with the online store within 30 days?

Yeah, but you have to send it back, they refund you, then you have to place a new order again and that may take a while since the shipping times are now 1-2 weeks.


walk to the front of the line. Find someone that is going to buy a 16gb. Show them your unopened 16gb and receipt then ask them to buy you a 32gb and trade them... thats all I got as I certainly would not wait in line for a phone especially if I already had one.

You also better have the difference in cash too to give to the person.
 
Anybody know the answer to this question? How many apps can a 16GB iPhone hold? I will have no music on my iPhone. I will take a lot of pictures and video randomly, but I always move them off the device.

I just want to know how many apps a 16GB iPhone can hold. I know apps range in size, but I'm just talking a ballpark figure.

When I had my 16gb 3gs, i kept about 128 apps constantly, that usually only takes up about 1 to 2gb. It was one of the least storage hungry files. I kept way more pictures and movies. If you don't keep photos or movies, you'll be fine.. unless you plan on dumping music on there.

----------

Yeah, but you have to send it back, they refund you, then you have to place a new order again and that may take a while since the shipping times are now 1-2 weeks.

Thanks for the info. Now there's no question I'm opening it tomorrow. :D
 
I thought about this when I watched the keynote in full, after I pre-ordered.

I was watching that Epic games demo (whatever the name of that game is). And I thought what if some good games I want to play come out. Typically I don't play games on the iPhone, but with air play on the Apple TV2 this may change.

Unlike songs and other content. With games you lose your progress when you uninstall.

We do have an iPad 2 so it's a non issue for me, but remove / lose progress is one thing I never put much thought into. Not a big deal, but it's something to think about.
 
You cannot return Online purchases to a brick and mortar Apple Store. Trust me on this as a past employee and its spells it out in the Return policy for the online store. Sometimes exceptions are made but on a launch day who knows.

I thought that this might be the case. After hastily ordering a black 4S in the wee hours of 10/7, I found that I'd really like the white model for a change. I'd like to be able to bring my unopened black 4S to the store tomorrow and exchange it, but, as you said, they probably won't do it, and I don't want to do the whole online exchange dance, so black it is! (I suppose that I could give it a shot and see what happens).
 
When I had my 16gb 3gs, i kept about 128 apps constantly, that usually only takes up about 1 to 2gb. It was one of the least storage hungry files. I kept way more pictures and movies. If you don't keep photos or movies, you'll be fine.. unless you plan on dumping music on there.

----------



Thanks for the info. Now there's no question I'm opening it tomorrow. :D

I was in the same boat too, but am really considering doing what a user said above to make someone buy a 32gb and I would exchange with them.
 
Has anyone gotten the Apple brick-mortar store to do a swap with something ordered from the online store?

Not a return, but just a simple "I have this unopened product w/ receipt from Apple.com, I want the bigger model, I'll pay the difference right now."

It seems highly silly that they wouldn't do this. Same company, after all.
 
Has anyone gotten the Apple brick-mortar store to do a swap with something ordered from the online store?

Not a return, but just a simple "I have this unopened product w/ receipt from Apple.com, I want the bigger model, I'll pay the difference right now."

It seems highly silly that they wouldn't do this. Same company, after all.

It is highly silly, but even though they are Apple, they treat them like two separate entities. iPhone stock amounts aren't based off of the store and online together, they have different and separate stock levels for retail and online.
 
Well this should clear it up. Called my Apple store and they said you can't exchange it. I would have to send it back and order it again. Forget that! Looks like i'm gonna have to comfy with my 32GB. I'll make it work. Plus I just saved myself an extra hundo I didn't need to spend.
 
Is it really that easy to make the switch? I ordered the black 64 GB, but I'm leaning towards the white now. Should I just go to the Apple Store and ask to exchange it?
 
Well this should clear it up. Called my Apple store and they said you can't exchange it. I would have to send it back and order it again. Forget that! Looks like i'm gonna have to comfy with my 32GB. I'll make it work. Plus I just saved myself an extra hundo I didn't need to spend.

Yeah, I'm just really worried that I'll eat through the 8 GB or so of free space on my current 32G GB 3GS w/ bigger apps and larger photos / video.

This entire pre-order has been frustrating -- from the inability to pick your phone up in store to the silly requirement that UPS be given one opportunity to deliver before you can pick it up at a distribution center to now this nonsense about requiring all returns to go back through the online store (killing weeks in shipping time back and forth).

I'll never order anything from Apple online again. It's FAR less convenient than just going to a store.
 
Was told I can't return online purchase to Apple Store

I pre-ordered a 32GB 4S from the online Apple Store and decided I wanted to get a 64GB after the order had been processed. I called the online store twice and was told both times that I would be able to take my phone to the brick-and-mortar Apple Store and exchange it for a 64GB.

My 32GB arrived this morning, so I called the Apple Store to confirm that I could exchange my phone there and was told that it wouldn't be a problem.

I went to the store, stood in line for an hour and and spoke to a girl who was passing out ticket vouchers for phones and told her my situation and was told again it was not problem.

When I was next in line to get my phone was greeted by a very nice gentleman and he told me that they couldn't do an exchange from the online store at the brick Apple store.

I asked to speak to a manager who also tried to be very helpful. He called the online store and AT&T trying to get this thing exchanged and everything seemed to be going ok, until the store system wouldn't accept an exchange on an item placed online. This process took another hour and fifteen minutes.

I was told my only option was to ship the phone back to the online store as a return then place a new order (looks like 2-3 weeks shipping time now). The manager is trying to work something out and said he will call back tomorrow.

I now have over two hours invested in the process of returning a online order from Apple to a brick Apple Store. I can understand if it can't be done because of inventory issues or the fact that a third-party cell phone provider is involved the transaction. But to have two people from the online store and two people from the Apple store tell me that I could do this exchange and then spend an hour in line and over an hour with a manager trying to get this thing exchanged seems pretty ridiculous. My time could have been saved at four different points during this process.

Hopefully something will work out, but I can't believe that this hasn't been a common situation in the past four years since the iPhone was released or that Apple's employees aren't better educated about their own policies on online vs. store exchanges/returns.
 
Last edited:
I pre-ordered a 32GB 4S from the online Apple Store and decided I wanted to get a 64GB after the order had been processed. I called the online store twice and was told both times that I would be able to take my phone to the brick-and-mortar Apple Store and exchange it for a 64GB.

My 32GB arrived this morning, so I called the Apple Store to confirm that I could exchange my phone there and was told that it wouldn't be a problem.

I went to the store, stood in line for an hour and and spoke to a girl who was passing out ticket vouchers for phones and told her my situation and was told again it was not problem.

When I was next in line to get my phone was greeted by a very nice gentleman and he told me that they couldn't do an exchange from the online store at the brick Apple store.

I asked to speak to a manager who also tried to be very helpful. He called the online store and AT&T trying to get this thing exchanged and everything seemed to be going ok, until the store system wouldn't accept an exchange on an item placed online. This process took another hour and fifteen minutes.

I was told my only option was to ship the phone back to the online store as a return then place a new order (looks like 2-3 weeks shipping time now). The manager is trying to work something out and said he will call back tomorrow.

I now have over two hours invested in the process of returning a online order from Apple to a brick Apple Store. I can understand if it can't be done because of inventory issues or the fact that a third-party cell phone provider is involved the transaction. But to have two people from the online store and two people from the Apple store tell me that I could do this exchange and then spend an hour in line and over an hour with a manager trying to get this thing exchanged seems pretty ridiculous. My time could have been saved at four different points during this process.

Hopefully something will work out, but I can't believe that this hasn't been a common situation in the past four years since the iPhone was released or that Apple's employees aren't better educated about their own policies on online vs. store exchanges/returns.

Thanks for this post. I pre-ordered the black 64gb but now i've decided that I want the white one instead. I was planning on passing by the store tomorrow but I think you just saved me some time.
 
Thanks for this post. I pre-ordered the black 64gb but now i've decided that I want the white one instead. I was planning on passing by the store tomorrow but I think you just saved me some time.

No problem. I'll give an update when I talk to the manager again tomorrow.
 
No problem. I'll give an update when I talk to the manager again tomorrow.

Agreed...thanks for the post. I want to upgrade to 32gb white and was told the same thing at the store even though online reps said it would not be an issue. I'd like to know your outcome because I need the 32 since I am running out of space on my 16 and it's only a day old.
 
Anybody know the answer to this question? How many apps can a 16GB iPhone hold? I will have no music on my iPhone. I will take a lot of pictures and video randomly, but I always move them off the device.

I just want to know how many apps a 16GB iPhone can hold. I know apps range in size, but I'm just talking a ballpark figure.

It can hold 16GB worth of apps. No, I am not being a smart donkey. Games like Rage and Infinity Blade are between 500MB and 1GB a piece. It all depends on what kind of apps you get. Its as simple as that. If you get a couple of navigation apps, a couple of cool games, and a couple of document apps and load them up with documents, that 16GB (which is like 14 something to begin with) is going to start looking cramped.

The solution is simple. Get the 64GB. That way you will never wonder if you have enough space, since they don't make them any bigger.
 
I didn't hear back from the manager yesterday (Saturday), so I called him about 7pm. He said he was in the middle of something, but he was still working on it and he'd give me a call back in an hour or so. That call never came.

Now it's Sunday afternoon and still no call.

Anyone else have better luck?
 
I didn't hear back from the manager yesterday (Saturday), so I called him about 7pm. He said he was in the middle of something, but he was still working on it and he'd give me a call back in an hour or so. That call never came.

Now it's Sunday afternoon and still no call.

Anyone else have better luck?

Got denied.
 
Agreed...thanks for the post. I want to upgrade to 32gb white and was told the same thing at the store even though online reps said it would not be an issue. I'd like to know your outcome because I need the 32 since I am running out of space on my 16 and it's only a day old.

don't know how u do it but go buy the 64gb and i am sure it will be not good for u
waite for the 1 tera bite modle:)
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.